


Justice: Harvey Dent x Reader

by luciebell_writes



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-07-05
Packaged: 2018-06-05 16:26:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6712459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luciebell_writes/pseuds/luciebell_writes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a close friend of yours is murdered by one of Gotham's influential figures, Harvey sees to it that justice is achieved. However, the Guilty verdict is only the beginning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

You closed your eyes when you heard the verdict: Guilty. The verdict had left you overwhelmed, relieved that justice had prevailed and that the nightmare was finally over.

A close friend of yours had recently met a tragic fate and, although the police had obtained irrefutable evidence to indicate the murderer’s identity, their high status and mounting wealth had made you apprehensive that the right verdict would be handed down. After all, it was common knowledge that money could solve almost any problem. Yet the system had come through on this occasion; granting some kind of closure to you and the victim’s family. And there was one man to thank for that.

Naturally, being a ‘high profile’ case, weeks of painful discussions and trials had taken place before the all-important day. As such you had frequently met with District Attorney Harvey Dent, who would be prosecuting the trial, in order to go over every detail; desperate to ensure that the obvious culprit would not go unpunished. He had been incredibly thorough during this time; helping you prepare your testimony since you were the last person to see your friend alive, while going to extreme lengths so to secure the win for all of your sakes. Frankly, you could quickly tell why he had been appointed such a high position. But Harvey hadn’t just been helpful when it came to the trial, he had also been warm and kind to both you and your friend’s close relatives. The prosecutor had frequently offered you emotional support and had never grown frustrated despite all the times you’d broken down in his office - instead acting as a shoulder to cry on. Hence why it was expected that you’d subsequently develop some kind of emotional attachment to him; after all, he knew everything about the situation you were going through.

As you left the courtroom, receiving overjoyed embraces and words of comfort from the victim’s family, you just didn’t know how to feel. So many thoughts were racing through your mind that you just couldn’t comprehend that this was it, that months of investigating and retelling each painstaking detail had finally paid off. But one thing was clear in your head, that you truly owed Harvey Dent a great deal for his service.

Turning around, you smiled slightly as you watched him being congratulated by those within law enforcement; noting how genuinely pleased he was to have won the case, to have achieved justice, as he always did.

Your friend’s mother moved to stand beside you, “he’s a good man, isn’t he. I dread to think what might have happened if it wasn’t for him.”

You nodded at her words, a sympathetic smile in place as you recalled how distraught she had been throughout the entire hearing. “At least it’s all over now. For once, the right verdict was passed down and I guess that’s all we could hope for.”

Harvey noticed you standing there in the lobby and excused himself, his typically courteous smile in place. “How are you both?” He asked politely, looking from your friend’s mother to you.

“Justice was served, thanks to you Mr. Dent.” She smiled at him and briefly glanced in your direction. “You’re welcome to join us in our celebration.”  
“Oh, thank you but I probably shouldn’t; I have to finalise some paperwork for an upcoming trial.” He met your gaze and you felt yourself feeling shy all of a sudden, yet you also felt too overcome with emotion to speak up. There was so much to say but you just couldn’t get your thoughts straight in order to formulate a sentence to express how gratified you felt.

However, the woman beside you was apparently unwilling to take no for an answer and continued to insist that the District Attorney go with you all. “We’re just having a few drinks. Come on, the least I can do is give you a glass of champagne.”

~~~

Of course her powers of persuasion didn’t fail on this occasion and Harvey found himself joining you all for your modest celebration. It was rare for the typical Gothamites to emerge victorious during court cases involving the most high-profile citizens so of course the guilty verdict warranted some kind of commemoration. But while you were drinking to ‘mark the occasion’ as it were, you were also gathered together to remember your friend - and that was why the emotions really got to you.

Harvey found you in the corner on your own, wearing solemn yet distant expression as you found yourself thinking back to all the fond memories the two of you had shared, and hating yourself for not being able to prevent their sudden death at the hands of such a cunning figure.

“Do you mind if I join you?” Harvey asked, causing you to break away from your deep thoughts and return to reality, where the pain was still as existent as ever. You nodded, although you feared saying a word in case your voice began to break. “Why are you over here on your own?”

Shrugging, you briefly glanced at Harvey before returning your attention to the empty champagne glass by your side. “I don’t know.” You sighed deeply, “I guess I thought that, after today, that would be it. I hoped that a guilty verdict would help but I still feel so…so hurt and angry.” You looked up directly at him this time, your eyes welling up slightly. “Does that ever go away?”

“Believe me, I’ve known countless people in your situation; they were still grieving despite the verdict they’d hoped for. But, in time, things do get better…even if these events never go away indefinitely.”

Sensing that his answer had done little to ease your distress, Harvey brought his chair closer to you, his hand on your shoulder in order to offer some comfort. “I know I didn’t have the pleasure of meeting your friend but I’m certain that hearing your testimony today would’ve made them proud. You’ve been strong throughout this whole difficult process and you played an important role in this whole case.” He smiled somewhat sympathetically at you, “you deserve to be happy, Y/N. You’re a good person.”

“Thank you.” Despite your trembling lip, you were able to feign a small smile; Harvey’s words somewhat assuaging your internal torment. “Really, thank you, Mr. Dent.”  
“Please, you can call me Harvey.” He paused for a moment, “can I get you another glass of champagne?”

His warm expression made you feel a little more at ease and you nodded; appreciating the prosecutor’s good intentions and kindness towards you, even now that the case was over. It was rare to find someone who genuinely cared about justice and morality in Gotham these days but you felt reassured to know that there was at least one person who had been willing to challenge the city’s de facto laws and traditions in order to see to it that the word ‘justice’ didn’t lose all meaning; determined to not see it become an unattainable outcome for those who deserved it most of all.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been weeks since the verdict had been passed, sending away the powerful individual who had orchestrated your friend’s death, yet you were still unable to forget. While your deceased friend’s family were trying to piece their lives back together, you refused to move on and accept what had happened; regardless of how desperately you wanted to let it go, you just couldn’t let it go. The pain was still evident and you needed answers beyond what the trial had revealed. That was why you ended up at Blackgate Penitentiary in the hopes that a meeting with the man who had murdered your close friend would help alleviate some of your hurt and anger. Deep down you knew that seeing him there, face to face, wouldn’t do anything but cause you even more distress but you hadn’t listened to your subconscious. or those around you - particularly Harvey Dent, who had been doing his best to look out for you since he prosecuted the trial. 

Knowing that it would do more harm than good, Harvey had tried endlessly to convince you to leave it alone, but even his raised tone hadn’t been enough to deter you from going down to the prison. And despite being completely against it all, Harvey had offered to accompany you; knowing that you were too strong-minded to listen to him. But just as he had expected, the whole situation quickly became too much for you to handle. Your pent up frustration towards the man before you had erupted all at once; thus leading to your prompt removal from the visiting room.

As Harvey was driving you home, you hadn’t said a single word; feeling too upset to even formulate a coherent sentence, as well as embarrassed that he had witnessed you behave in such an unstable state. But what you didn’t understand was that Harvey truly recognised the pain that you were feeling, and that your outburst had only accentuated this. He wanted to help you in any way possible because, in the time that you’d spent together, the District Attorney had developed a strong inclination to look out for you. However, Harvey knew how inappropriate such feelings were, because you were still vulnerable and grieving; hence why he had refrained from opening up to you about this. 

“It’s my fault; I should’ve never let you go to Blackgate.” Harvey said eventually; desperate to break the silence in the car. Yet you had your head rested on the window, staring numbly at the streets that passed by. “Please talk to me, Y/N.” At this point, Harvey wanted you to say something - anything - so long as he knew you were alright. From the time that he’d spent with you, Harvey had learned that you had a habit of bottling up your emotions, of refraining from saying how you truly felt, so he wanted nothing more than to know what was going on in your head. Only then would he be able to help you.

Annoyed at his inability to ease your torment, Harvey’s grip on the steering wheel tightened and he bit his lip; he didn’t want to scare you with his unpredictable temper after all, because it wasn’t your fault that you felt so sad. Taking a deep breath, Harvey knew that he was in no state to continue driving, so he pulled over on the side of the road and closed his eyes in an attempt to compose himself. 

You had never seen this side to Harvey before. Although you had witnessed his frustrations flare slightly during the build-up to the trial, and earlier that day when trying to convince you that your determination to visit the man that murdered your friend was foolish at best, this was something else entirely. The District Attorney usually maintained a calm demeanour yet he now seemed stressed beyond belief.

“I’m sorry.” You whispered, glancing briefly at Harvey who had his head rested in his hands. “I should’ve listened to you but I was so convinced that meeting with him would make me feel better…I was wrong. If anything, it just made things worse.”

“You don’t have to apologise, Y/N.” He insisted quietly, still averting your gaze in order to avoid unnerving you with his irritated expression. Harvey didn’t want you to blame yourself for the incident at Blackgate, or for his sudden pang of anger, so he was trying desperately to bottle up his rage as he had become increasingly accustomed to doing so. “Please, don’t. You shouldn’t blame yourself.”

“I can’t help it, okay?” You sighed, unable to shake the feeling that your emotional blunting had caused some offence. “You’ve been so supportive but I’ve just been throwing it back in your face. I’ve ignored so much of the advice you’ve given me because I’m so stubborn and–”  
“You’re just headstrong, that’s all. I respect that about you.” 

That made you smile a little, “you respect me?”

Harvey straightened upright and nodded, regaining his typically calm composure as he met your warm eyes, a courteous smile in place. “Of course I do. You’ve been through a difficult time recently but you’re a strong person, Y/N. I’ve always thought so.”

“I couldn’t have gotten through this without you though.” You told him, smiling somewhat coyly. “Thank you, Mr. Dent.”

He laughed a little and shook his head. “Please, you can call me Harvey.”

“Harvey…” You let the name roll off your tongue, while Harvey found delight in hearing you address him in a less formal way. He had long-since yearned to hear you say his name in that way and now that you had, Harvey was unable to ignore the resurfacing of the romantic feelings towards you that he had tried so hard to bury. But as much as Harvey wanted to be considerate and respectful of your situation, his desire to hold you in his arms surpassed this.

With a gentle smile, Harvey shifted closer to you and you unknowingly did the same; anxious with anticipation, because you longed to feel something, to know that you were of some importance to someone else. 

Harvey brought up his left hand to lightly touch your cheek and, taking the stillness as a sign of approval, he placed a gentle kiss on your lips. And you returned his affection with little hesitation. 

Just like Harvey, you had felt the same connection between the both of you, and you were completely gratified by his complete selflessness when it came to you; subsequently fuelling your attraction towards him.

“I’m sorry…that was inappropriate.”

You shook your head, biting your lip as a smile spread across your face. “I’m glad you did that.”

Upon hearing you say that, Harvey felt utterly surprised, but evidently pleased. “Does that mean you wouldn’t mind if I did that again?”

“Go for it.” You replied, tone soft and cheeks pink; closing your eyes as you awaited the soft feeling of Harvey’s kiss. And when his lips touched yours once more, you felt your heart swell with happiness - feeling as though you’d finally found something meaningful amidst the pain you’d recently endured.


End file.
